The Israeli military appears to have intensified ground operations in Gaza as terrorist group Hamas stalls ceasefire talks by refusing to provide information about the well-being of some 136 Israelis in its captivity since October 7.

The terrorist group “refuses to provide the names of Israeli hostages who are still alive,” the Israeli news website YNET reported Sunday, citing a government official.

With Hamas stonewalling the negotiations, Israel has decided to stay away from the talks and won’t be “sending a delegation to Cairo today,” The Times of Israel reported:

Israel received an answer from Hamas about the framework for a hostage deal hammered out in Paris last weekend, but the Gaza-based terror organization refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to receive a list of living hostages and how many Palestinian prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

In the wake of the unsatisfactory response, Israel is not sending a delegation to Cairo today, says the official.

IDF ‘deepens’ ground operations in Gaza

Israel intensified military operations in Gaza, particularly around the southern Hamas stronghold of Rafah where hostages are believed to held by Hamas as human shields. The IDF was ‘deepening entry of ground troops into Gaza,’ the Israel TV channel i24NEWS reported Sunday.

“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks reportedly entered the Hamad area of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the ground maneuver started, deepening its fight against terrorist factions. The Israeli Air Force also carried out extensive airstrikes in Khan Yunis,” the TV network added.

IDF drone broadcasts a message to the residents of Hamad residential town in Gaza, Khan Yunis warning them:

“This area is a dangerous combat zone, the Israeli army is actively targeting Hxmas militants in the area, please evacuate” pic.twitter.com/gHf3MNM8vB

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 3, 2024

Besides tanks, the Israeli infantry was carrying out ground operations in the south. “98th Division carried out an extensive series of strikes on terror targets in western Khan Yunis in order to intensify operational achievements in the area. During the strikes, the troops destroyed terrorist infrastructure and eliminated Hamas terrorists who were operating from civilian facilities in urban areas,” the IDF disclosed in a press release Sunday afternoon.

IDF drone broadcasts a message to the residents of Hamad residential town in Gaza, Khan Yunis warning them:

“This area is a dangerous combat zone, the Israeli army is actively targeting Hxmas militants in the area, please evacuate” pic.twitter.com/gHf3MNM8vB

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 3, 2024

Report: Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s terrorist grandson killed in IDF airstrike

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s grandson, a terrorist himself, was eliminated in an IDF airstrike after firing rockets into northern Israel, Israel and Arab media report say. Nasrallah’s grandson, Abbas Ahmed Halil, was a member of the Imam Hossein Division run by the Quds Forces, Iran’s foreign terrorist arm.

“IDF aircraft struck a vehicle in southern Lebanon, in which a number of terrorists who launched rockets into Israeli territory were driving in. The terrorists operated under the Imam Hossein Division, which is affiliated with Iran and operates for the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the IDF said in a related press release on Saturday– but did not mention Ahmed Halil’s name.

The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday:

The grandson of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Abbas Ahmed Halil, was one of the three Hezbollah terrorists killed on Saturday by an IDF strike in Neqoura in south Lebanon, according to a report by the Syrian radio channel Voice of the Capital on Sunday.

With Hamas hoarding food and fuel, Biden orders first aid airdrop into Gaza

While Hamas refuses to assure the well-being of hostages and threatens Israel with renewed terrorist attacks during the upcoming Ramadan month, President Joe Biden on Saturday ordered the first U.S. aid airdrop into Gaza.

Even before the October 7  terrorist attacks, Hamas has been hoarding large quantities of food, fuel, medicine, and other essential commodities in its terror tunnels. “Hamas has spent years stockpiling desperately needed fuel, food and medicine, as well as ammo and weapons, in the miles of tunnels it has carved out under Gaza,” The Wall Street Journal reported late October.

During the ongoing counter-terrorism operation, Israel has been allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Aid convoys continue to enter Gaza despite Hamas’s repeatedly plundering of trucks at gunpoint, videos like these on social media show:

תיעוד: תושבי עזה בוזזים משאיות סיוע של איחוד האמירויות שהגיעו לרצועה דרך מעבר רפיח@gal_sade @kaisos1987 (צילום: AP) pic.twitter.com/Fhr8TZoVat

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 17, 2023

The BBC reported:

The US has carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes.

The operation, carried out jointly with Jordan’s Air Force, was the first of many announced by President Joe Biden. (…)

Other countries including the UK, France, Egypt and Jordan have previously airdropped aid into Gaza, but this is the first by the US.(…)

Aid agencies have said that airdrops are an inefficient way of delivering aid.

“Airdrops are expensive, haphazard and usually lead to the wrong people getting the aid,” Mr Egeland said.



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